Category Archives: blood pressure

This morning, I woke up and the room temperature was 62 degrees F. That is very cold for me. But when it’s cold in the bedroom, I always get the most relaxing, peaceful and long slumber.

I’ve been so fortunate for a while now that I am able to get a good shut eye, at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep. It was not always a great sleep in the past for me. I had trouble sleeping before and I would wake up tired.

Two years ago, I’ve decided to find ways to correct my sleeping habits in the hope that I can cure my insomnia or sleep disorder. Through the latter part of my adult life, good sleep was very hard to achieve. I resorted into taking over the counter sleeping pills, and then switched into more natural sleep aid, like Melatonin and Valerian. They did not really help that much. From time to time when I was very tired, I would doze off and get maybe 4 to 6 hours of sleep. For one thing my mind was so active, mostly worrying about the next day’s work activity or maybe personal issues would interrupt my sleep.

The internet and cell phones did not help and when social media and smart phones came along, sleeping was a distraction more than a necessity. Especially when some research group was saying you don’t need to have an eight hour of sleep. It’s different in each individual. Not everybody have the same sleeping requirements. So that played in my mind and as long as I’d get to sleep, even just five hours a night, I will be okay. I did not have a sleeping schedule set. Whenever I feel sleepy, that was the time. But as time went by, the less sleep I was getting. I had to rely on over the counter sleeping medication on nights when I was so wide awake. My mind was going 100 miles per hour thinking of so many things.

On one of our vacation road trips, I found a book written by Dr. Don Colbert entitled The Bible Cure for Sleep Disorders. The book gave way for me to embark and research about achieving a natural way to get good sleep.

Work With Your Wake/Sleep CyclesGoing to bed and waking up at the same time each day can help to set a rhythm to your sleep cycle and prompt your body to recognize when rest time is approaching. A morning ritual such as meditation or yoga that reduces your stress can be extremely beneficial – and this can also be repeated before sleep.

Move your body earlier in the day and avoid anything too vigorous at night, if possible. Movement, particularly movement that gets the heart rate up or is physically exerting, typically activates the sympathetic nervous system making you alert and awake, and subsequently decreases your melatonin (sleep hormone) production. Instead, in the evening, allow yourself time to slow down, unwind and stimulate your sleep neurotransmitters. Around 60 to 90 minutes before sleep, turn off your “devices”, turn the lights down and maybe include some meditation or light reading. Finding sleep hygiene that works for you is incredibly important, but these are great starting points for everyone. from: https://www.foodmatters.com/article/when-sleep-is-elusive-getting-quality-rest?fbclid=IwAR2n_bPPRMTPltLnxchyez6DdCw09nZAl8m5oS-ftwXDDv2kSMigL4Kszpg

The first thing I’ve changed was my sleeping schedule. I started sleeping at the same time at night and waking up at the same time in the morning. It took time changing the bad sleeping habit. I found a good herbal sleep medicine at Sprouts. It’s called Deep Sleep. It doesn’t have side effects so it’s safe to use. With Deep Sleep, it helped me to make a transition from a poor quality of sleep to a rhythmic sleep cycle. I try not to take it every night if I don’t have to. When I am very sleepy, I would skip it.

I made it a point to turn off my desktop computer two hours before bed. I give myself time to relax. I brush my teeth two hours before I go to bed as I find that brushing my teeth right before bed makes me wide awake.

What helps me to stay asleep is making sure that I’m done with my daily water intake, which is 8 glasses a day, about 4 to 5 hours before bed, and not eating before bedtime. That’s where my intermittent fasting works in my favor. I stopped eating by 4 to 5 pm at the latest. It settles my stomach and most of the food I’ve eaten have digested by the time I get to bed. I don’t experience heartburn that can interrupt with sleep. I don’t take any medication nor supplement I discovered could interrupt with my sleep. Celery juice and smoothies and vegetables and fruits had helped me settle my stomach at night.

In winter, I would turn off the central heat and by the time I’m in bed the bedroom is getting cold. During warm days, I set my air cooling thermostat to 68 degrees, but now that I know that I can have a good sleep at 62 degrees under three blankets and a thick comforter, I might settle for 65 degrees.

What I find so helpful that relaxes my mind is reading my daily Bible devotional before bed. As I meditate on God’s Word, my mind relaxes and what I have read about God’s goodness and faithfulness and His love for us completely take over my mind. Thankfulness and gratefulness to God clears my mind of worry, concern and fear and giving my burden to Him stop the mind from self-involved thoughts. Afterwards, I would do my deep breathing of 4-7-8 about 8 times and I’m ready for a restful shut eye.

And If I get lucky, I might remember my dream that I usually have about the time I would wake up. And I remember a lot of my dreams since I no longer deprive myself of a much needed sleep every night. I actually have a sleep journal and it’s fun to go back and review what I wrote from time to time.

When I get to Stage 5 of my sleep, I can feel, when I wake up in the morning, that I had a restful, long and peaceful sleep and a deep sleep at that. I’m getting a lot of them lately, the cold weather must have aided as well.

“What is deep sleep and how much do we need of it?

Some studies have shown that your deep sleep should at least be 20% of your overall sleep. It means that since most adults need 8-9 hours of sleep, they will need about 1.6-1.8 hours of deep sleep to feel fully functional next day.” from: newhealthadvisor.com

What stage of sleep is most important?

For a quick review of the four stages of sleep:Stage 1 (N1): This is the lightest sleep, lasting as little as five minutes,…Stage 2 (N2): This light sleep is also fairly easy to be awoken from,…Stage 3 (N3; formerly N3 and N4): This is deep sleep, during which the body performs maintenance…Stage 5: REM sleep is the only sleep stage in which we dream.

from: soundsleephealth.com

Why is REM sleep important?

REM sleep is important because it is the restorative part of our sleep cycle. Typically, you begin the sleep cycle with a period of non-REM sleep followed by a very short period of REM sleep. from: azumio.com

How much sleep does an adult need?

An average adult needs between 7.5 and 8 hours of sleep per night.

Can you get too much deep sleep?

According to New Health Advisor, adults 18 and older need anywhere from 1.5-1.8 hours of deep sleep per night, which is about 20% of your overall sleep. Some people, however, may find they need more in order to feel fully rested. There’s no such thing as too much deep sleep. from: eightsleep.com

Cloudy days have been overstaying their welcome more this time of the year than the previous years in our woods. I have to find ways to combat SAD (seasonal affected disorder) for dark clouds affect my mood every year. From September to February, I feel sometimes, in a sad mood, not depressed but just a feeling of being under the clouds. It somehow triggers memories of years gone by, that easily make me emotional, though I’m able to manage it well, and I have to thank God for that.

It’s not as worse as when we used to live in California. In California, when it hit the month of September, there’s a gloomy touch in the air when Fall season arrives. It’s still sunny, but you can feel the dampness, especially the area where we used to live being close to the beach. I used to start getting sick in September without fail. My SAD got some relief when I was told at a health store that Gaba plus can help with SAD. And it did, but I cannot take it long term as it has a side effect.

When I’ve embraced eating plant based food, where I lost a lot of weight, I started to get familiarized with the benefits of each vegetable and fruit I’ve been eating. This year, the Celery juice has been giving me a lot of energy and it helps with SAD during this time of the year. I started taking calcium with Vitamin D3 and it’s been helping with SAD also. I’ve added more bananas in my fruit daily intake and I’ve discovered that it helps with SAD also! What do you know!

If You Think Bananas Are Just For Monkeys, Think Again

These 25 ways to use and eat bananas will blow your mind!

1. Bananas help overcome depression due to high levels of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin — the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter.

2. Eat two bananas before a strenuous workout to pack an energy punch and sustain your blood sugar.

3. Protect against muscle cramps during workouts and night time leg cramps by eating a banana.

4. Counteract calcium loss during urination and build strong bones by supplementing with a banana.

Last, but not least, my close relationship with God has helped enormously with SAD for before I become a Bible believer Christian, my SAD was more of a depression than anything because it was throughout the year as far as I can remember and would get worse when Fall season starts.

Hopefully, March will bring more sunlight and beautiful days ahead. I always hope for brighter days and they are not far from sight! I can bet on that!

I’ve learned this the hard way this weekend. Sugar did raise my blood pressure. I take my blood pressure regularly so I know My BP level has been good, until I’ve made this Sweet and Sour Cucumber. It calls for regular white sugar and clear vinegar in the recipe. I heated them together to dissolve and mix the sugar with the vinegar. The end result was very good. I made it twice last week, the second one I prepared last Saturday as side dish. I added some thinly sliced onions and carrots for garnish. One of the best cucumber salads I made. I was happy with it and so did my household.

Then came this chest pain last Sunday. The pain subsided when I took an aspirin and I was able to have a good night and restful sleep. However, when I took my blood pressure this afternoon, my blood pressure was 148, 150 systolic. Before this, my BP level has not gone up since I’ve learned to control my eating habits, which is mostly a Mediterranean diet with lots of veggies and fruits. I can have some bread, or some crackers and even ice cream in some occasions and my blood pressure would not get affected.

“Carbohydrates cause the body to hold on to water. When the water volume increases in our blood, the pressure in our blood vessels increase.
The same can happen when we consume salt.
However, only one of these will cause chronically elevated blood pressure.

Again, too many refined carbohydrates increase water in the blood thus increasing blood pressure. Refined carbs have no nutrients. The nutrients are stripped out in the refining process. As we’ve seen the body must maintain sodium in the bloodstream or significant health problems will ensue. Consider that an intravenous solution of salt water is the first thing given to ER patients.You would be surprised just how many studies exist that shows no connection to salt and hypertension. So forget the studies. Study it in yourself. If you have hypertension, reduce your salt intake for two weeks and do nothing else (you’re probably already doing this). See if that brings down your blood pressure significantly. If not, eliminate all sugar intake in the form of refined sugar and refined carbs for two weeks. See what happens.” FearlessEating.net

“One out of every three US adults has high blood pressure (hypertension). If you’re among them, one of the first recommendations your physician probably gave you was to cut back on salt.
Yet, there’s far more to maintaining a healthy blood pressure than eating a low-salt diet – a strategy that works for some people and fails for others.
In fact, fewer than half of Americans with high blood pressure have their condition under control, and perhaps this is because conventional physicians have been focused on the “wrong white crystals,” namely salt instead of sugar.
One of the primary underlying causes of high blood pressure is related to your body producing too much insulin and leptin in response to a high-carbohydrate (i.e. high sugar) and processed food diet.

New Study: Sugar May be Worse for Your Blood Pressure Than Salt
You’ve probably heard of the DASH diet, which is claimed to be among the most effective for controlling hypertension. It consists largely of fresh vegetables, fruits, lean protein, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and very low sodium content.
But it’s ALSO low in sugar/fructose. So, while people on DASH diets do tend to show reduced hypertension, the reason for this may not be solely the reduction in salt, but the reduction in sugar.
The same holds true for reducing your intake of processed foods, which are top sources of both heavily processed salt and sugar/fructose. In a new review in the journal Open Heart, the authors also argue that the high consumption of added sugars in the US diet may be more strongly and directly associated with high blood pressure than the consumption of sodium.

Story at-a-glance
Added sugars, particularly fructose, in the US diet may be more strongly related to high blood pressure than salt
Cutting processed foods from your diet may benefit high blood pressure not only because it reduces salt, but more likely because it reduces sugar
Excess sugar in your diet increases blood pressure and heart rate and contributes to inflammation, insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.”

I have not used white sugar for quite sometime in any recipe that calls for white sugar, except last week. I thought, it would not affect me since I have not used it for months. What I have been using if I need to add sugar in my recipe or my oatmeal is Madhava Coconut Sugar. It does not affect my blood pressure. This proves to me that I cannot have simple, white sugar added to any of my foods. My fasting sugar when it was checked last year was normal. I want to keep it as normal as possible. Especially now that I know how sugar can affect my BP more than salt. I also stopped using table salt or processed salt as this type of salt can also raise up my blood pressure.

I have been using Redmond Ancient Fine Sea Salt. This all-natural sea salt comes from the underground salt deposit in Central Utah. The deposit was left there by a pristine ancient sea that covered much of North America millions of years ago. This sea salt has not raised up my blood pressure and I don’t use so much of it either. I’ve read that this type of salt is similar to the sodium content in our own blood. That’s why we cannot totally eliminate sodium in our diet as long as they come from good sources for our body.

“Water, sea salt, and potassium together regulate the water content of the body. Our daily food contains potassium from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables, but not table salt (sodium chloride). That’s why we need to supplement our daily diet with sea salt.”

Thanksgiving day 2018 came and gone and surprisingly, though I had an extra helping and went a little overboard with eats, my weight management did not suffer. I still do my intermittent fasting, my daily smoothies and veggie salads. With holidays, there are so many food temptations and I just can’t resist. Amazingly enough, I was able to maintain my weight, even with the extra calories from the Thanksgiving feast. I recently added Celery juicing because of the things I’ve read about it and the juicing benefits of celery.

Organic celery is a staple in my fridge. I add it to my salads and cooking. There is this medical medium guru on Facebook that I follow and he faithfully promotes the healing benefits of celery juice. He said that celery has an incredible ability to create sweeping improvements for all kinds of health issues. He said that celery is truly the savior when it comes to chronic illness. He said it is most powerful to drink it alone. Aside from celery being an alkaline food, the health benefits are aplenty.

In my case, it’s one of my food aids to naturally lower my blood pressure. It prevented constipation and amazingly aided with my weight. I see the difference in my weight scale.

And yes, it helps with bloating. I don’t feel bloated like I feel water heavy, though I drink a lot of water each day. Celery contains Phthalides, phytonutrients that provides potential cardiovascular benefits. Celery phthalides can act as smooth muscle relaxants, most likely through their impact on the flow of calcium and potassium inside cells and related nervous system activity involved with muscle relaxation. Of course, relaxation of smooth muscles surrounding our blood vessels allows them to expand and the result is a lowering of blood pressure.

I drink celery juice first thing in the morning, and I wait about 30 to 45 minutes before I eat my breakfast. I combine 3 to 4 celery stalks, chopped, with some coconut water to aid in extracting the juice and I use the new, updated NutriBullet.

I have not taken any blood pressure medications for almost a year now because of the very bad side effects. But because of the veggies (plus smoothies and celery juice) and fruits I eat everyday, and supplements of Fish Oil, Cholestoff, grape seed extract and olive leaf extract, I am able to get good BP readings.

And one thing that help with lowering my blood pressure is when I stopped adding salt when cooking. I don’t use table salt either. I try to buy food and condiments with a label indicating fewer milligrams of sodium, which we need and an essential nutrient in our body; as long as it’s not too much and excessive. I’ve learned that if we consume too much sodium, it can cause water retention, and our body may respond by raising our blood pressure to push the excess fluid and salt out of our system. Our heart is working hard, which is not normal, when our blood pressure is high and chest pain can occur.

“Humans are genetically programmed to eat ten times less sodium than we do now. Many so-called low-salt diets can actually be considered high-salt diets. That’s why it’s critical to understand what the concept of ‘normal’ is when it comes to sodium. Having a ‘normal’ salt intake can lead to a ‘normal’ blood pressure, which can contribute to us dying from all the ‘normal’ causes, like heart attacks and strokes. The American Heart Association recommends everyone consume less than 1,500 mg of sodium daily— that’s about three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt. The average American adult consumes more than double that amount about 3,500 mg daily. Reducing sodium consumption by just 15 percent worldwide could save millions of lives every year.

If we could cut our salt intake by about a half teaspoon a day, which is achievable by avoiding salty foods and not adding salt to our food, we might prevent 22 percent of stroke deaths and 16 percent of fatal heart attacks. That’s potentially more lives saved than if we were able to successfully treat people with blood pressure pills. Simply put, reducing salt is an easy at home intervention that may be more powerful than filling a prescription from the pharmacy. Up to ninety-two thousand American lives could be saved each year simply by eating less salt.”

High blood pressure worries and frustrations in four years time had led me on a mission and a quest to find out about this notorious and scary hypertensive heart disease.

When I gained 35 extra pounds in a matter of five years of quitting my job and relocating, I’ve noticed I became very sluggish and I would feel tired even just after a shower. I knew that I needed to do something about the changes I was feeling. For one thing, I did not even know that I gained so much weight. I’ve thrown caution to the wind, stopped weighing myself in the morning, enjoyed life and ate out a lot even if there was no special occasion. I’ve eaten sweet desserts way late in the evening, had some ice cream and junk snacks while enjoying internet browsing and watching movies. I was just having the greatest time of my life after working so long and hard in life. It was a time of junk foods that I did not even know were bad for me; and eating out and buying all kinds of processed foods, were part of finally arriving to a period and time that alarm clocks no longer ruled my life. I could be up almost all night, waking up late in the morning with no set sleep schedule. Hey, this was what life was all about after all!

Then came a warning sign. To compensate with bad eating habits, I would do my treadmill workout. At first I was able to still do high speed intensity and uphill workouts. But then one day, I had a bad fall while sort of running on our hallway to catch an important life event on video. It was a bad tumble on a hard concrete flooring, chest first. A few months later, when I felt okay to go back to exercising, I started feeling chest pains while tread milling. I would stop working out for days, and returned back when the pain was gone, but there was still the same nagging chest pains.

One night I woke up with this worse chest pain on my left side that my hubby had to take me to the emergency. Thank goodness, it was not a heart attack. However, the emergency doctor suggested that I see a cardiologist to be safe and sure that my heart is not weakening. The following day after seeing a cardiologist, he wrote me a prescription for Nitrostat to take as needed should I experience chest pains again. The cardio visit led to another visit as he wanted me to undergo some tests. I declined having one of them because of what was written about the possible bad reactions to the test. The doctor mentioned that my blood pressure was in a high range. He suggested that it might be the cause of my chest pains.

Knowing nothing about high blood pressure, I did not know where to start. But it led me to start researching about it. I’ve read that caffeine intake can elevate blood pressure. I stopped drinking tea and coffee, not even decaf, and the chest pains subsided. I read that I should buy a blood pressure monitor to help with knowing my blood pressure numbers at home. My first blood pressure monitor was giving me high systolic numbers but my diastolic numbers ever since was normal.

Getting frustrated and stressed out with worries about the high blood pressure, I finally saw a general practitioner who suggested that I start taking blood pressure medication. The first medication prescribed was Lisinopril. When I went back for 3 months check up, I told my doctor that I was experiencing bad night coughing. He then took me out of that and prescribed Benicar, but I had a bad sore throat and itching from taking it that I had to go back to my GP and he changed the BP prescription to Losartan. I stayed with Losartan for a while. This time I started with a Blood Pressure Log to keep track of my daily BP systolic and diastolic numbers and heart rates. And I bought a better and reliable BP monitor. My numbers were good and stayed in good range.

I make it a habit to take three months worth of BP log sheets each time I see my doctors. I have a white coat hypertension syndrome where my blood pressure systolic reading is higher at the doctor’s office. I used to wonder why, but I know now the reason. Everything is rush-rush in the doctors office. Taking blood pressure measurement should be done after 5 to 10 minutes of rest sitting down doing nothing. Your upper left arm is at the same height as your heart, placing it on a table. The clinic assistant should not do anything or not talk to you or touch you to take your heart rate etc., while taking the measurement. These are not adhered at the doctors office. They don’t give you a chance to breathe if ever. You’re already stressed out being there and if they call your name right away while filling some paperwork for updates, your heart is already racing. Of course, in turn, your blood pressure reading undoubtedly has skyrocketed. This is what I tell them now after they take my measurement and my reading was high; and I show them my BP log sheets. I am right away vindicated. I don’t give them a chance to tell me to up my BP med dose just because.

Many people find that their blood pressure increases because of subconscious stress from confrontation with medical institutions and the staff working there. This is usually called “white coat hypertension”, that is, elevated blood pressure levels from just seeing the white lab coats doctors wear.This is a common problem: a full 10-15% of people diagnosed with high blood pressure after measurements taken at a hospital or medical facility, later find that measurements taken in their own home or averaged over 24 hours are normal.

If you’re one of the people with “white coat hypertension”, you have approximately the same risk of heart disease as other people with normal blood pressure. People with “white coat hypertension” don’t need blood pressure-lowering medication – but they often get it unnecessarily! ***DietDoctor.com

This time around I started on my plant based diet, reducing simple sugar carbs and saturated fats, started with calorie counting and lost a significant amount of weight. My BMI went down to normal. I also started with intermittent fasting. Anyway with BP med intake it seemed like I finally achieved successful control of my blood pressure, or so I thought.

But then after a few months of taking Losartan daily, I started feeling backaches, cold sweats especially at night and the worse chills like I could hardly breathe at night and would wake me up in the middle of the night. Suffice to say, I had so many sleepless nights. I would have chest pains on top of it that my GP referred me to another cardiologist who is more reliable than the previous one I was referred to at the Emergency Hospital. This time I finally agreed to have a cardiogram test and a nuclear test. My nuclear test had a good result. I do not have any blockage and my heart condition is good and so did my cardiogram result.

But I was still being pestered with back pains and all the side effects that came with taking Losartan. I had a little argument at my next visit with my GP. He was getting annoyed that I was complaining about side effects. And asked me point blank why should he prescribe me another BP med when I seemed to complain about side effects all the time. I told him you’re my doctor, you’re supposed to help me. But looking back at it now, I guess he probably would want me to stop taking them period. Both of us frustrated, he prescribed Norvasc or Amlodipine. At this point, I was just about as stressed out with BP meds.

I then researched on what veggies and fruits and whole grains and other plant based foods that can naturally lower my blood pressure. I’ve adjusted my daily prepared meal to be as close as the Mediterranean diet focusing on lots of veggies and fruits.

After taking the Amlodipine for three months, side effects followed.

I had the worst lower and upper back pains. I could barely sit down for a few minutes because I would have chest pains and back pains. I started getting very tired and fatigue at the end of the day that I had to stop taking it because I can hardly get a good sleep. This time I did not call my GP. I felt good through all the summer last year after quitting Amlodipine. The back pains were going away. I was able to get goodnight sleep again. Without the BP med, I found out that with adding plant based foods and losing weight, my blood pressure numbers are not bad at all. My energy was optimal.

But I decided to give Amlodipine another try early this year to make sure that I was just not imagining the side effects. Just three weeks into taking it everyday, my lower and upper back started to bother me again. I started getting dizzy and feeling faint like I would pass out. My legs were starting to swell and ache like I was having a blood clot on both legs. I started sneezing really bad everyday, I could barely function. I lost my energy. I was able to prepare my smoothies and eat plant based foods, but I was so fatigued toward the end of the day that I felt like I was so depressed and feeling run down. I told myself that this is not the way to live a full life! I was having a restless sleep. I’ve prayed so hard and asked God for discernment and wisdom on how I could deal with these trials I was going through with my health. I was exhausted and tired and sneezing continuously most days that once and for all, I’ve got to stop taking the BP med.

Lowering blood pressure helps prevent getting angina, heart attacks and strokes. BP medications can surely lower your BP, but with the side effects that come with taking these meds long term, a person will die of side effects, not of the high blood pressure. And would possibly die of heart attacks anyway. These drugs are awful! I’ve learned to be vigilant with all these drugs doctors prescribe to be used long term and daily. Check out the side effects! Most likely, you will experience those side effects. These conventional drugs will take over your life and lose it in the process. My chest pains were actually caused by these BP drugs!

After a week of quitting the BP med, I felt better. I’ve been taking Gaba Plus for years, so I started taking them again. I stopped taking my supplements because of fear that they might badly interact with my BP med. I started taking Fish Oil and Co Q-10 and Vitamin D and calcium again. In my research, I found out that taking Gaba Plus and Fish Oil will lower my blood pressure.

Yesterday, my blood pressure systolic was 127 and my diastolic was 64 and heart rate is 62. I’ve been getting good BP readings even without the conventional BP med. The chest pain is gone and yesterday, I returned to doing a moderate treadmill walk. When I’ve first embarked on changing my eating habits and lost a lot of weight and doing intermittent fasting, I was in the middle or period of taking the BP med. So whatever benefits and nutrients I was getting was helping me somehow, but the side effects of the BP med were so overwhelming that daily dose of this medication was giving me a poor quality of life.

In a recent 6 month’s visit last week at my cardiologist office, I told the nurse practitioner that was assigned to me that I stopped taking the BP med. I showed her my BP log sheets and told her the side effects I experienced. She was concerned about the BP reading that was taken by the clinic assistant because my systolic reading was high. I told her what I’ve learned about the right ways to take BP measurement. I was surprised she didn’t know. She let me rested for about 5 to 15 minutes and took another blood pressure measurement. It was 135/70 with 64 heart rate.

Blood pressure readings varies each time in a day, it can be lower, in the middle, higher or extremely high depending on how our heart and brain react on things around us. I found out that it is normal. The medical concern really is if our systolic or diastolic number remain high, especially the systolic number and does not change even when we are at rest before doing the measurements.

An ideal, healthy blood pressure is not over 120/80. This is what young, healthy and lean people have…

Values between 140/90 and 160/100 are considered as slightly elevated blood pressure.Over 160/100 is said to be moderately elevated.Over 180/110 is a severely elevated blood pressure.

If your blood pressure is severely elevated (over 160 systolic or over 100 in diastolic), medication is wise. If you have other risk factors for heart disease (like smoking, diabetes or obesity), medication may be recommended even for a slight elevation in blood pressure (over 140/90).

Up until recently there was no evidence that medication improves the health of otherwise healthy people with mildly elevated blood pressure (140-159 systolic and/or 90-99 diastolic). This meant it was unclear whether it was worth risking the side effects of the medication if all you have is a slight elevation.

After losing a lot of weight and eating plant based foods, my daily blood pressure readings are in the mid 120s and low and mid 130s at the most. The Fish Oil and Gaba plus have added extra help in lowering my blood pressure steadily without BP medication. Hopefully, I am at the time now that I have reached the level where my blood pressure is finally well controlled. I’ve thanked God and grateful to Him that He has given me understanding and wisdom in overcoming the maladies concerning high blood pressure. God once again opened my eyes!

Have you ever heard about Telomere? [ˈtēləˌmi(ə)r, ˈtelə-] Do you have any idea what it is? I didn’t. However, I was amazed at finding out about this very important part of our beings living within us and determines the longevity of our lives.

I’ve been hearing about Telomeres for about 2 years now, but I could not comprehend how they work in our body. Until I bought the book: How Not To Die. In this book it tackled in parts this amazing compound structure.

“In each of your cells, you have forty-six strands of DNA coiled in chromosomes. At the tip of each chromosome, there’s a tiny cap called a telomere, which keeps your DNA from unraveling and fraying. Think of it as the plastic tips on the end of your shoelaces. Every time your cells divide, however, a bit of that cap is lost. And when the telomere is completely gone, your cells can die. Though this is an oversimplification, telomeres have been thought of as your life “fuse”: They can start shortening as soon as you’re born, and when they’re gone, you’re gone. “

“The consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other antioxidant-rich foods has been associated with longer protective telomeres, In contrast, the consumption of refined grains, soda, meat (including fish) and dairy has been linked to shortened telomeres.”

“In a study funded by in part by the U.S. Department of Defense, they found that three months of whole food, plant based nutrition and other healthy changes could significantly boost telomerase enzyme activity, the only intervention ever shown to do so.

The study was published in one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world. The accompanying editorial concluded that this landmark study “should encourage people to adopt a heathy lifestyle in order to avoid or combat cancer and age related diseases.”

from: How Not To Die/Michael Greger

“Telomerase is an enzyme that lengthens telomeres and keeps them from wearing out too fast or too early. But with constant cell division, telomerase levels are depleted, enabling telomeres to shorten. It stands to reason that if science found a way to increase telomerase production, telomeres would remain long, lengthening life spans and possibly reducing the risk of some diseases.”

“Foods high in vitamins are believed to protect cells and their telomeres from oxidative damage. A diet high in antioxidant foods, like berries and artichokes, can slow down aging and help prevent or reduce cell damage.”

Seven of the best known ways science knows of now to slow down telomere shortening to live longer:

Don’t ever smoke. Smoking is not only hazardous to your lungs and cardiovascular health, but is also found to increase rate of telomere shortening, which can lead to dysfunction and instability of chromosomes.
De-stress your life. The more stress you have in your life, the greater risk of increasing the rate of telomere shortening and aging more quickly. How to slow it down? As simple as it might sound, the key is to always have a positive outlook on life. Plus, enjoy a vacation once in a while, enjoy friends and social activities, receive plenty of sleep every night, and try meditation.Exercise regularly. By increasing amounts of physical activity, especially intense physical activity, research shows you could keep your telomeres long and healthy, even buffering the effects of chronic stress.Get your antioxidants daily. When high amounts of free radicals attack cells (causing oxidative stress), they leave no stone unturned making chromosomes and their telomeres vulnerable to shortening. You can best protect yourself by getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet from eating fruits and vegetables daily and supplements.

Never go without fish oil. Fish oil contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are well-known for being healthy to the heart, but recent evidence has shown that increasing amounts in the diet is associated also with slowing telomere shortening over time. You can get enough by eating fish a couple of times per week and by supplementing with long-chain omega-3s daily.Get enough of the “sunshine vitamin. Several discoveries have made vitamin D the most popular nutrient of the decade because of its many benefits including an association with longer telomere length. You can make sure you’re getting enough by practicing safe sun exposure and supplementing with vitamin D daily.

“Obesity has an adverse effect on health, causes pre-mature aging, and reduces life expectancy,” says John Morton, MD, Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Stanford University Medial Center. “If your telomeres get longer, you’re likely to reverse the effects of aging.”

While this study was conducted on surgical weight loss, we’re hoping future research will be able to replicate it with diet and exercise in humans.

Stand Up

Stand up for anti-aging! We don’t mean take a stand–we mean actually get out of your chair and stand up to protect your telomeres, according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. There is growing concern that not only low physical activity but probably also sitting and sedentary behavior is an important and new health hazard of our time.

The researchers found that the less time spent sitting, the longer his or her telomeres. In fact, in this study, time spent standing was even more important than exercise for telomere protection. This is great news because most things you do sitting down (watching TV, checking email, calling a friend), you can do standing up.

I finally broke the plateau hurdle in my weight loss journey! Aside from losing the two pound gain from the 2017 Christmas holidays, which got me back to 105 pounds. I maintained this weight since late 2015 when I started losing weight and plateaued at 105 lbs.

It’s very true, the last 5 pounds are the hardest to lose. Either I was not mentally ready to get lower than 105 or my mind is playing games with me.

This is me at 105 lbs. last year before the holidays. It looks like I look okay. My BMI was 21.2 which is considered a normal weight. What makes me get rattled is when I go to my primary doctor and my cardiologist for my checkup, I seemed to gain an additional 5 or 6 lbs. each time they weigh me in! So for them, I am 110 or 111 lbs. which is ridiculous. I still am considered normal weight for my height, but it seems unfair. Whatever the weight that registered at the doctor’s office scale is what they go by and record on their office chart. And they don’t pay attention when I say my weight is lower than that! One assistant said: “you must have eaten a lot before you got here.” No lady, it’s all the clothes I’m wearing! No sympathy I’m telling you! LOL

On the positive side of things, I am so thrilled that I am 2.6 pounds away from my goal of 100 pounds! My BMI is 20.7. The less weight I can lose, my BP will go down more and my heart would not work as hard.

What really helped me to get past the diet plateau, was the peak fasting or intermittent fasting. When I started my weight loss journey, I did not know anything about peak fasting. I was losing weight by counting calories then, which tremendously helped a lot. Weighing the food we eat had educated me and my husband and reality sets in as to why people gain weight. The bad carbs are the greatest culprit of all. Anything with sugar triple your chance of gaining unwanted weight. And so does saturated and trans fat. Anything heavy in weight, like sweet potatoes to grapefruit to meat ribs with bones, we would remove the parts that will not be eaten when we use the food scale. Or else they will add up to the gram count! 152 grams of half of a medium size grapefruit is 64 calories already. Sweet potatoes at 51 grams is 77 calories.

They seem small in calorie numbers, but when we add the other foods to the list, they add up to the daily food budget. I’ve learned to truly lose weight, and still able to consume variety of foods good for me is to weigh my food. To maintain my weight is to learn how to eyeball the amount of my daily food intake and learn to adjust when I gain an ounce or two or a pound based on what the food scale has taught me.

This was my lunch one day at 353 calories. I can eat tons of veggies without hurting my food budget.

This is 465 calories. Sweet Potatoes and the pork ribs provided the most calories on one lunch this week.

I had a bowl of organic popping corn to the lunch mix. My lunch for today, Sunday was 284 calories including the popcorn. Bowl of popcorn is 69 calories at 19 grams. Panseared seabass was so delicious with tomatoes, red peppers and red onions. My sides were organic garbanzo beans and pearled couscous. I can only have 21 grams of pearl couscous which is not very much in a very small serving cup. And it’s already 75 calories taken away from my daily calorie budget. We did not know couscous would steal the calorie show. They are as bad in calorie count as white rice! The lunch was so good though! Mediterranean diet at its best! And the kitchen still smells so good!

Most of my daily breakfast consists of veggie and fruit smoothies which always meet my daily fiber requirements together with veggie salads. This week I’ve added some organic apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter.

Today, for my morning snack, I had this delicious crispy noodle and nut mix. For a very small cup of this to die for snack, it cost me 131 calories! I cheated on this one and I added a little more so it was more than 131 calories. But I just had to have it.

I do moderate treadmill walking most days which helps reduce the calorie budget. I drink 8 glasses of water everyday. My last meal is always lunch, then I start with my peak fasting.

Ahhhhh, the holidays are finally over! A month of holiday celebration was somehow a hurdle with losing or maintaining weight; but thankfully, I only gained two pounds total since yesterday, New Year’s Day!

I got so used in doing intermittent fasting and it helps on days before and after Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year; the reason why I was able to control my weight. The calorie counting I incorporated during those times that I have to lose 20 pounds when I started changing my lifestyle habits, has given me the heads up when I was facing with all those glorious holiday foods. I knew that if I ate more than the calories that I have been used to, I will gain the following day. But I’ve learned also that if I ate less the next day of gaining some ounces or a pound, without being hungry as I fast, the following day, I would lose the calories I gained. That’s how I was able to maintain my weight.

I’ve learned that our body system can adapt to changes in eating habits, so if I feed my body less, it would be happy and content. The lessons I’ve learned as I am realizing it now is if I trained my system to eat less processed sugar, like cakes, cookies, chocolates, ice cream, pies; my system will adapt and would not anymore clamor for those types of food. The biggest dilemma for me is if I start tasting them again on holidays, and they are so attractive during the holidays, my digestion process seems to want to betray me and dislike the taste of the natural sweetness of the whole foods such as fruits. It doesn’t help, too, that most of the best fruits are not in abundance during the winter season of holidays galore.

Well, I promised myself that today, I’m starting to nip it in the bud, start to eat less and less simple sugar again, replace them with smoothies and more veggie salads, which get my energy in a better level, and control my hunger pangs and to get back to working out.

How sight and smell relate to digestion

“At first glance — or sniff — the digestive link between your eyes, nose, and stomach sounds a tad weird. But think about it: How many times has the sight or scent of something yummy like a simmering stew or baking bread set your tummy rumbling?

The sight of an appetizing dish or the aroma (actually scent molecules bouncing against the nasal tissues) sends signals to your brain: “Good stuff on the way.” As a result, your brain — the quintessential message center — shoots out impulses that

Make your mouth water.

Make your stomach contract (hunger pangs).

Make intestinal glands start leaking digestive chemicals.

All that from a little look and sniff. Imagine what happens when you actually take a bite!

Tasting and chewing in the digestion process

You know that small bag of potato chips you have stashed way at the back of your desk drawer? Well, dig it out and take a chip.

As the chip hits your tongue, your mouth acts as though someone had thrown the “on” switch in a fun house.

Your teeth chew, breaking the chip into small manageable pieces.

Your salivary glands release a watery liquid (saliva) to compact the chip into a mushy bundle (a bolus in digestive-geek speak) that can slide easily down your throat on a stream of saliva.

Enzymes (which you can think of as digestive catalysts in this case) in the saliva begin to digest carbohydrates in the chip.

Your tongue lifts to push the whole ball of wax . . . no, bolus, back toward the pharynx, the opening from your mouth to your esophagus, and then through a muscular valve called the upper esophageal sphincter, which opens to allow the food through. In other words, you’re about to swallow.”

Just One Bad Meal Can Mess with Your Health

Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me was one of the first to vividly demonstrate the consequences of trying to sustain yourself on a diet of fast food. After just four weeks, Spurlock’s health had deteriorated to the point that his physician warned him he was putting his life in serious jeopardy if he continued the experiment.
But as the featured study showed, it doesn’t take a virtual month to experience the health effects of a poor diet. In fact, the changes happen after just one meal, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

When you eat a meal high in unhealthy fats and sugar, the sugar causes a large spike in your blood-sugar levels called “post-prandial hyperglycemia.” In the long term this can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, but there are short-term effects as well, such as:

The good news is that eating a healthy meal helps your body return to its normal, optimal state, even after just one. Study author James O’Keefe of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri told TIME:

“Your health and vigor, at a very basic level, are as good as your last meal.”

I experienced this poor diet effect when I ate a meal high in unhealthy fats and sodium, one night when we went to see a movie last month before Christmas week in a theatre, where they serve food inside the auditorium. I thought to myself, it was only for one night, it would not hurt me, but it did. I felt so restless in bed and I had chest pains. I lost the calories I gained from it two days after I got back to eating my healthy homemade meals, but it surely proved that foods served in restaurants are not the best quality foods that your body definitely does not need. I can even tell now which restaurants we would go to and their foods will give me heartburn. Of course, after going twice, and it’s still doing the same result after I ate their food, there is something in their ingredients that do not agree with the human body’s digestion. For one thing, to gain profits, they serve you with the cheapest ingredients combine with trans fats and high in salt and hidden sugar, it’s a stomach catastrophe waiting to happen. Overtime, when you keep eating fast foods, you will develop all kinds of maladies: illness · sickness · disease · infection · ailment · disorder · complaint · indisposition · affliction · infirmity · syndrome · bug · virus – you name it!

“LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is often called bad cholesterol because it can build up in the walls of your arteries and form plaque, which can narrow and reduce the flow of blood through your arteries (arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart). This plaque buildup can lead to a condition called atherosclerosis —also known as ‘the hardening of the arteries.’” Source: https://www.repatha.com/high-ldl-causes-treatment/?WT.srch=1

Recently I heard news from a close friend of mine that her husband had an emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder full of gallstones. Gallstones may form when there is too much cholesterol in the bile. …
High levels of bilirubin can lead to formation of gallstones. …
In case the gallbladder is not able to empty often enough or if it is unable to empty completely, there may be a concentration of bile. …

I was not familiar with gallbladder which I thought was the same as the bladder that stores urine. They are two different body organs.

Gallbladder is a pear-shaped sac which is made up of a mucous membrane, a fibromuscular coat, and a serous layer. It lies in a depression of the posterior surface of the liver.

Urinary bladder is a part of the urinary system that stores urine produced by kidneys until urination takes place. It is found anterior and inferior to the pelvic cavity and posterior to the symphysis pubis. Bladder receives urine through ureters, the small tubes connecting two kidneys and the urinary bladder.

“Cholecystectomy is the medical procedure that surgically removes the gallbladder. Around 60% of the patients that undergo this procedure experience an improvement in their digestion, but for the 40% patients, they experience side effects and other discomforts. Diarrhea is a common side effect of removing gallbladder. Heartburn can also be experienced by people who have undergone cholecystectomy. Unexplainable discomfort is usually felt by the patients a few days after the surgery. Bloating is the result of carbon dioxide pumped inside the body and remains there. Difficulty in breathing. It is important that after surgery, deep breathing is now practiced. Heartburn is the result of improper digestion. Since there is not enough bile in the system, some of the fatty foods remain undigested and these fatty acids and gastric acids will try to regurgitate back to the esophagus, causing pain in the chest, neck, throat, etc.. “ Source: http://www.tandurust.com/digestive-problems/dangers-of-removing-gallbladder.html

Hopefully, my friend’s husband is one of the 60% patients that improve their digestion when the gallbladder is removed.

Anyway, I never realized that too much cholesterol in the body cannot only affect the walls of our arteries, but can cause problems on the other parts of our organs. Pretty scary!

How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally
These are the 7 steps you can take to lower cholesterol naturally. And if you follow all of them, you can count on a very high success ratio.

Eat a healthy cholesterol lowering diet. Some fats help lower cholesterol, while others can raise it. So get your fats right.

Do regular healthy physical activity. At least 30 minutes of exercise a day has been shown to decrease total cholesterol and improve “good” HDL cholesterol levels, while lack of regular physical activity can raise “bad” LDL cholesterol levels as well as lead to weight gain.

Reach and maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight can decrease “good” HDL levels and increase “bad” LDL and total cholesterol levels.

Eliminate sweets and refined foods. Few realize that eating sweets and other high glycemic foods increase triglycerides and cholesterol production. These foods are also addictive. Once you eliminate them, you’ll find that fruits, vegetables and whole grains actually taste sweet.

Cut out caffeine and alcohol – drink water. Both caffeine and alcohol have been shown to elevate cholesterol. So it’s best to switch to pure water and, at the very least, follow the “no more than one a day” rule.

Don’t smoke or use tobacco in any form. Smoking damages blood vessels, contributes to hardening of the arteries and is a major health risk for heart disease, stroke and other degenerative diseases.

Practice good healthy stress management. Just like cholesterol, a certain amount of stress is healthy – such as with exercise. But the link between excess stress and high cholesterol production is well established.So take time to relax, let go, meditate, enjoy yourself or do whatever it takes to keep your stress level under control.

Use the 7 steps to lower cholesterol naturally to reach optimum levels of:
Triglycerides less than 150 mg/dl.
Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dl.
HDL “good” cholesterol over 40 mg/dl.
LDL “bad” cholesterol less than 100 mg/dl.

You can greatly reduce your all-around risk of both heart disease and stroke, the #1 and #3 causes of premature death in the U.S.by simply following these guidelines on how to lower cholesterol naturally. Source: http://commonsensehealth.com/how-to-lower-cholesterol-naturally-in-7-steps/

List of Foods that Lower Cholesterol Naturally.

Below is a list of foods that lower cholesterol naturally. You can use this list of cholesterol reducing foods as a guide when eating and should consider having a majority of these foods that lower cholesterol in your home.

Another method of healing I found on line is Ginger Garlic Apple Cider Vinegar Mix:

1 piece of grated ginger, 1 glove of garlic, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Liquefy with the use of Nutri Bullet blender. Consume 1 tablespoon of the mixture before breakfast and another before lunch or dinner. This mixture lowers blood pressure and cholesterol naturally according to the website.

Ever since I’ve modified my eating habits for the past few years, I’m always conscious of what to buy at the grocery stores. I have gained knowledge into the type of foods that would either make me healthy or will eventually cause diseases to propagate in my precious body. I’ve learned so much about organic foods and GMO laden produce and food products. It’s scary when you think about what’s out there bad to eat.

When it comes to my health, I don’t want anymore to let food commercials dictate what I should eat. I was commercially sublimated during my younger years of busy and stress loaded life. When you’re young, you don’t think of food in terms of your health, but what would make you feel stuffed, glutted or engorged regardless of the bad consequences and that would satisfy your hunger pangs. Looking back, I had eaten quite loads of fast foods. They were delicious, for Pete’s sake! Ate in many restaurants, hole in the wall types, and some elegant ones. I let the chefs’ or cooks’ concoctions to rule my eating habits. It was fun while it lasted. As luck would have it, I was into workouts to save my life! Yes! You should see my collections of VHS and DVD workout tapes! I have tons! And I still have them, but now contemplating in donating them.

I lost some weights, maintained the weight loss, but eventually succumbed to gaining extra pounds. That’s when health problems surfaced. My blood pressure went up and I was not feeling so good anymore. This led me to research about the causes of high blood pressure and how to manage it naturally. I went through different types of high blood pressure meds and most had bad side effects. It was frustrating. My salvation: plant based foods! They are miracle foods. But then I’ve learned that not all plant based foods are created equal.

Most grocery stores carry food produce that are laden with dangerous pesticides. Even the ones on the grocery shelves. To top it off, most are GMO or genetically modified foods. They are foods genetically altered to look attractive to our eyes and genetically enhanced to have longer shelf life!

“The rise in autoimmune diseases, infertility, gastrointestinal problems and chronic diseases may be associated with the introduction of GM foods. In a position paper by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the authors ask all physicians to consider the role of GM foods in the nation’s health crisis, and advise their patients to avoid all GM foods whenever possible. The Academy also recommends a moratorium on GM seeds and calls for immediate independent safety testing and the labeling of all food items containing genetically modified products. As of 2010, the U.S. does not require food manufacturers to identify foodstuffs produced with genetically modified crops.”

How To Avoid GMOs
“The best way to avoid GMOs is to cook at home using certified organic ingredients. Organic foods, by law, are non-GMO. When buying produce such as corn, look for the PLU code on the label — if it begins with 9, it is organic. If you use packaged or prepared foods, look for “USDA Certified Organic” on the label. Packaged foods that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients are not permitted to contain GMOs. Assume that all restaurants are serving GMOs. The vast majority of non-organic products sold in a conventional supermarket, including pet foods and baby foods, contain some form of GMO corn, soy or other ingredients.”

I only have one body to live on and one life to live. But I have capabilities to control what I will eat. This day and age, there are tremendous information at my beck and call to help gain knowledge on protecting my health.

Today’s breakfast – organic cereal with 11 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein with some blackberries

I’m thankful and grateful for stores that are popping up and carrying organic and non GMO foods. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and now Aldi. Groceries near us are carrying organic produce and non GMO products. On the side of our world, we have HEB and Kroger and even 99 Ranch that dedicate organic food sections, or organic and non GMO products spread all over their food shelves. You just have to hunt and look for them. And because of the increase demands for organic and non-GMO products, the overall costs are moderately going down. Now that Amazon owns Whole Foods, I’ve seen organic pricing getting to the level, in some degree, with their conventional counterparts.

It cost me such a lot of hours of research to get where I am with my health now. I am, more than ever, pays attention subsequently to what I require for myself to be able to give the necessary defense, to protect my body from the radical changes that poor eating habits entail. I promised myself to succeed.